The Value of a Bedtime Routine
Children Wind Down, Sleep Better With a Regular Evening Schedule
Busy children, busy days, busy parents . . . Chill out and wind down with a regular bedtime routine.
At the end of a long, busy day, your active child needs to wind down for the homestretch to a good night's sleep.
Children have different bedtime needs and wants, depending on their routines and habits. Even some older children’s preferences go back to infancy – the lighting in the nursery, background noise and music, bottles and pacifiers, and how they were put into the crib each night. Did you rock or hold your baby to get him to sleep and then place him in the crib? Did you kiss him goodnight, turn off the light and close the door, letting him develop his own methods of falling asleep?
Children can be steadfast in their habits. The good news is, old habits can be broken and new ones set just as quickly.
If your evenings are frantic and rushed, leaving you exhausted but your child not exhausted enough, plan a bedtime routine.
The idea is to wind down. It’s difficult, particularly for active children, to “turn off” and relax enough to fall asleep at the end of the day. A bedtime routine can help
Getting on Track with a Bedtime Routine
Set your child's bedtime routine while he's still young. Don’t stuff everything you want your kids to do in the evening into their bedtime routine. Keep it simple:
- A bath. If your morning routine is hectic enough, have your children take baths or showers at night. A warm bath can be relaxing and help calm your child.
- A snack. Quick, but not rushed. Don’t overdo cookies, desserts, snacks and soda right before bed. Too much sugar and too many calories could give your child an energy jolt and he’ll have a hard time falling asleep. And caffeine? Forget about it.
- A story. Sharing a book with your child in bed is a great way to encourage daily reading. Set a number of pages and stick to it nightly, within a page or two. If you’re reading chapter books that are compelling or suspenseful, don’t end your reading with a particularly suspenseful cliffhanger. Your child may be too wrapped up in the story to settle down enough to sleep.
- A prayer. No matter what your religious beliefs, a prayer before bed is your way of instilling in your child an important nightly practice. If you’re not part of a regular religion, teach your children that those few minutes before falling asleep is the perfect time to look back on the day, reflect on your actions, and look with anticipation to the next day.
- A kiss and a song. Kids love little rituals. Say a few lines from a poem together, sing a goodnight song, or whatever little to-do you and your child make up.
- Music. Many children find soft music just the soothing thing they need to fall asleep. Before you turn the lights out, put on a few songs on a CD player, or turn on a classical music radio station programmed to turn off after 10 minutes or so.
Keeping on Track
To keep your bedtime routine on a time line, you have to start on time, which means you have to finish up the day’s activities on schedule. If dinner is late, homework is late, if friends stay over too long, that will push your bedtime routine into later hours.
If your kids dawdle, thinking they can push back bedtime, let them know that the optional activities in their bedtime routine will be the first to go, in order to stay on schedule.
Start Early
If they’re going to help your child settle down after a busy day, bedtime routines can’t be rushed. Start your bedtime routine early enough that you can allow your child to leisurely take a bath, read a story, have a snack, or whatever makes up your before-bed schedule. Rushing through the last hour or so before bedtime will only serve to energize your child more.
